Research

EFFECTS OF CAFFEINE AND IBUPROFEN ON MUSCLES

The purpose of our experiment was to determine whether caffeine and ibuprofen caused significant contraction or expansion of a glycerinated lepus sylvalica (rabbit) muscle. In this experiment, caffeine and ibuprofen tablets were crushed into two separate, fine powders and then individually mixed with saline solution (which was also the control) to form 1% caffeine, 2% caffeine, 1% ibuprofen, or 2% ibuprofen solutions. Small muscle fibers from a glycerinated lepus sylvalica (rabbit) were then soaked in one of these solutions to find if any contraction or expansion of the muscle would occur. The changes in the muscle were recorded and then compared to the change, if any, from regular saline solution to remove other variables besides the caffeine and ibuprofen. Four Two-Sample t tests were run to analyze the data. The resulting data showed that caffeine had a significant affect on the muscle, contracting it. The data also showed that the 2% ibuprofen did not have a significant affect on the muscle fibers, even though the 1% ibuprofen did.